If construction goes as planned, baking at the San Gabriel Valley store will begin by late fall of this year.

“I can’t tell you how excited we are,” Porto’s CEO Raul Porto said during the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of his family’s newest store, 1360 W. Garvey Ave.

Established in 1960, Porto’s currently operates restaurants in Burbank, Glendale, Downey and Buena Park. Raul Porto said planning for the West Covina location began several years ago when the Downey store opened.

“We did a survey of about 8,000 or 9,000 customers and what became clear of that survey was that the majority of our customers that were going to the Glendale store and the Downey store were actually West Covina residents and residents of all the surrounding cities,” he said.

The two-story, 21,943-square-foot bakery and cafe is expected to generate about $80,000 in sales tax revenue for West Covina and create around 175 part-time and full-time jobs, said Mayor Mike Spence.

“It’s going to be a very important part of West Covina,” Spence said. “We’re grateful that you’re coming here.”

Raspberry Financier pastries are on hand as Porto’s Bakery and Cafe announces construction of their newest store on Garvey Avenue South in West Covina Jan. 22, 2018. (Photo by Leo Jarzomb, SGV Tribune/ SCNG)

Guava cheese pastries are on hand as Porto’s Bakery and Cafe announces construction of their newest store on Garvey Avenue South in West Covina Jan. 22, 2018. (Photo by Leo Jarzomb, SGV Tribune/ SCNG)

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Porto’s Bakery and Cafe president Raul Porto and West Covina mayor Mike Spence announce construction of their newest store on Garvey Avenue South in West Covina Jan. 22, 2018. (Photo by Leo Jarzomb, SGV Tribune/ SCNG)

Aside from a couple of puns about buns and pastries — not pasties — all of that seemed to be forgotten Monday.

“Most residents are going to be happy to know that they got us instead of different set of buns,” Raul Porto said as the audience erupted with laughter. “We’re a family-run business and when we go into a city we want to be somewhere where we’re going to be welcomed and appreciated, and we really found that on day one.”

Stephanie K. Baer is a general assignment reporter covering the San Gabriel Valley. Baer has written about crime, local government, politics and public health. Her reporting on flaws in Los Angeles County's restaurant grading system prompted officials to change the way they issue health grades to retail food facilities. As part of a fellowship program at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism's Center for Health Journalism, she wrote an in-depth series about the dangers of blue-green algae toxins in California. A Bay Area native and UC Berkeley graduate, Baer has worked for the Chicago Tribune and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She was editor-in-chief and president of her college newspaper, The Daily Californian.